It took 15 years but Jim Rice was elected to the Baseball hall of fame today. Jim Rice was my first real baseball hero. I grew up watching him, reading about him, and collecting his baseball cards. Every day I went to the Globe not only to read about the game from the night before but to read the box score and look at Rice’s stats.
It’s amazing what you recall 25-30 years later, but I remember quite vividly watching Rice play left field, and I still to this day disagree with those who found Rice to be slow. After all, Rice did have two straight seasons of 15 triples in 77 and 78. That 78 season was a bittersweet one with the loss to the Yankees in a one day playoff, but it solidified Rice in my mind as the hero of my Red Sox youth. 46 home runs, 135 RBI’s and a .315 average were great numbers, and something more…my original fantasy baseball passion. Yes, Jim Ed helped me enjoy math, enjoy stats, and enjoy the game behind the game.
Congrats Rice, it never should have taken 15 years.
